Cheddington

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Cheddington
Buckinghamshire

The Church of St Giles, Cheddington
Location
Grid reference: SP918170
Location: 51°50’41"N, -0°40’6"W
Data
Population: 1,754  (2011)
Post town: Leighton Buzzard
Postcode: LU7
Dialling code: 01296
Local Government
Council: Buckinghamshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Buckingham
Website: cheddington.org.uk

Cheddington is a village in Buckinghamshire about six miles north-east of Aylesbury and three miles north of Tring in Hertfordshire. It is north of the Chilterns, and separated from Aylesbury to the west by the irruption between them of the Tring Salient of Hertfordshire/

The hamlet of Cooks Wharf has grown up where the main road into the village from Pitstone crosses the Grand Union Canal.

Churches

The parish church (Church of England) is St Giles. It is essentially a Norman church, with later additions.

There is also a Methodist church with a large congregation.

History

At Southend Hill near the village are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort which has been largely obliterated through arable cultivation.

The earliest known record of the village is in the Domesday Book in which it is called Cetendone, which is a rendering of the Old English Cettan dun, or 'Cetta's Hill'.

Cheddington manor house is a much gabled and half timbered red brick building under a tiled roof, dating from the 16th century.

In 1963 Cheddington came to national prominence as the "Great Train Robbery" was committed nearby, at Bridego Railway Bridge in the hamlet of Ledburn.[1]

In 1984, again Cheddington achieved national notoriety as the location of the first assault by Malcolm Fairley, a violent armed rapist, nicknamed "The Fox" because of his cunning nocturnal attacks.

In the last thirty years Cheddington, due to its railway station, which is rarely robbed these days, and easy access to four towns, has more than quadrupled in size.

About the village

The village has two public houses: The Swan, a thatched inn, and The Three Horseshoes. A third inn, known as the Rosebery Arms, designed by the Victorian architect George Devey has recently been converted into houses.

Cheddington Combined School is a mixed, community primary school, that takes children between the ages of four and 11. The school has about 200 pupils, and its catchment area includes the neighbouring parishes of Horton and Slapton.

Big Society

Cheddington has various clubs including a tennis club, a bell ringers' association, a badminton club, a history society, a bowls club, a petanque club and a football team.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Cheddington)

References